Free Story #8 - Guided (Chapter 8)

Maybe I should have been surprised, but honestly, I wasn't. Arc seemed to be so human in the way he acted as a cat that I'd kind of thought there was something not quite feline about him. Zoe however was nonplussed. She kept looking at Arc then back at the wall.

"Why have you been living with us all this time?" I asked.

"I needed somewhere to go after my pack kicked me out" he said sheepishly and shuffled his feet.

"I thought only were-animals ran in packs?"

"Not all the time, they kicked me out when they found out I wasn't a genuine werecat"

So now I knew about werecats. That was another species to add to my radar. But this wasn't the time for celebration.

"I let you sleep on my bed, Eat my food. Then lick me when I needed company" Zoe yelled.

"I was going to tell you but I was afraid you would reject me because I wasn't like you. Seeing as how you did that to every boy you've slept with over the last three years"

That was a mistake. Zoe slapped him across the face and went into her room slamming the door. Cringing as I heard the sound of falling plaster, I saw Arc starting to walk toward the door.

"I think it's best if I leave" he said.

Zoe wasn't ready to forgive him yet but I was.

Even if he had tricked us all, he had only done because he was scared of living alone. After all, he had never attacked us, so why should he now?

"No don't go, she'll come round"

As I said this, I heard the sound of falling from the bedroom. A quick glance at each other was all we needed to investigate as soon as possible.

We opened the door to find Zoe knocked unconscious on the floor. She would be ok but clearly the rage wasn't going to subside quickly like it usually did.

There was only one person I could think of to help us; I just hoped that he would. We put her gently on the bed and left the room.

Picking my mobile out of my jeans, I dialled the number and waited for the call to be answered. About three rings later, a gruff masculine voice echoed down the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Colin, its Taylor. I know its short notice but I really need your help"

There was a moment of silence. At first I thought he had hung up because he didn't exactly owe me any favours.

"I'll be right there" he said gruffly and hung up.

Just when Arc was about to ask what I was up to; the doorbell rang. Opening the door, there was a small antique vase on the doorstep. I took it inside and placed it on the table.

Arc looked at me as if I had gone mad. I gently rubbed the side of the vase with a cloth.

It glowed with a golden aura and thick red smoke poured from it. Arc was completely astonished and didn't move. The smoke drew together in the centre of the room and in a flash of light, a tall red skinned male with black hair stood naked except for a towel wrapped around his waist.

"How may I serve you?" he asked me in a rich voice.

"Knock it off Colin, this isn't the time" I snapped.

"Fine, what seems to be the problem?" he asked in a voice that was as common as muck.

Arc was gob smacked that a genie had appeared in the middle of the room.

He kept trying to speak but kept falling over his words. After he heard the explanation, Colin nodded.

"So basically you want me to make Zoe forget that Arc was ever a cat?" he said.

It was a possibility but not a valid one. I had heard of plenty of times in the past of someone using wishes to erase memories. Needless to say, they had all gone horribly wrong.

"No, all we need is for her to accept the situation we are currently facing a lot faster than she would normally"

Colin stroked his beard. Well goatee.

"I only make the healing easier. I can't take the pain away. Is that ok?"

That was exactly what I wanted. It was also the reason I had asked Colin to do this.

Someone like David or Marina were slightly inexperienced being only two hundred years old. They might have tried to make it go away, but instead caused things to get even worse.

Not so much for their enjoyment but for his own selfish pride, Colin got every wish right. He wasn't a modest genie by any means. I nodded to confirm the question.

"Well then, speak and it shall be so" he said.

"Colin, I wish that you would help Zoe in the way we have agreed"

Colin stretched his arms above his head. But just when he was about to clap them together, I suddenly changed my mind. What was I doing interfering with someone else's emotions?

"Wait! I wish for that wish to not be granted!" I yelled.

He stopped and looked at me. He looked slightly relieved.

"I'm glad you came to your senses. You shouldn't try and mend relationships that way" Colin said in a calm neutral tone. It was strange to hear the words but they were exactly what I had to hear.

"What do I owe you for the inconvenience?" I asked him.

"Nothing. Remember the favour you helped me with?"

"The whole thing with Marina?"

"Yeah, if you hadn't helped me, she would have died"

Smiling slightly at his sudden display of gratitude, I shook Colin by the hand. He smiled, winked at Arc and clapped his hands together. Colin became red smoke then poured himself back into the vase and it disappeared in a flash of light. Arc looked at me.

"Why did you stop him?" he asked.

"Because we shouldn't try to fix Zoe that way. I'll try to talk her round in a minute. She'll see reason eventually"

Arc smiled and a relieved smile crossed his face.

"How can I ever thank you?" he asked.

"Never leave hairballs in my bedroom ever again" I replied.

Arc laughed. He then gave me a big hug. Completely taken by surprise, I pushed him away from me but apologised a second later.

It was then that I heard low growling. That seemed to rumble from deep inside something large. Something inhuman.

Spinning around, I noticed I hadn't closed the door properly. The wind must have blown it open. It was practically against the wall behind it.

Standing half transformed in the doorway, was Doug.

And he didn't look friendly.

*

For a second, I wondered Doug was so angry. Arc started to back toward the wall, fear present in his sapphire coloured eyes.

"Doug, what the hell are you doing?" I asked him.

He looked at me for a second and snarled. Then, it occurred to me that he might have got the wrong idea about the hug Arc had given me only seconds before.

Doug completely transformed into his wolf form and walked over to Arc. His body was tense and ready for battle. Without forewarning, he slammed his paw against Arc's neck and pressed down very hard.

"What the fuck were you doing with my boyfriend?" he growled.

If it had been possible, I would have jumped about three foot into the air. The fact that werewolves could speak in wolf form was something I hadn't known.

"Nothing I swear" Arc gasped. His face was filling with blood.

Doug clearly didn't believe him because he pressed down harder on his throat for a second.

"And you expect me to believe that? I've saw what happened"

Arc's eyes were bulging out of his sockets. If I didn't do something soon, he would be dead. But how could I stop him? An idea sprung into my head and because Arc's life was in danger, I didn't pause to think of the consequences.

Running to the kitchen, I pulled a bucket from the cupboard beneath the sink and filled it with cold water.

As soon as it was full, I ran over to Doug and threw it all over him.

He howled in surprise and let go of Arc.

Just at that moment, Zoe opened her bedroom door to see what the noise was all about. Arc didn't waste time. He transformed into his cat form and ran into the room. Zoe looked at me for a second in confusion.

I tried to give her a look that said 'keep him safe'. When Zoe saw my jealous boyfriend running toward her door, she understood what I meant and slammed it shut. Doug tried to pull on the brakes but the sheer size of his wolf form meant that he slammed into the door. He collapsed to the floor unconscious.

As I watched, he shifted back into his human form, with a massive bruise on his temple. I laid him on the sofa and put a cold flannel on his head. A few minutes later, the bruise was gone and he awoke. For a second he looked confused, and then his anger returned. This time, I stood in front of the bedroom door. Doug strode over and stood three feet from me.

"Stand back" he growled.

"Doug, it was harmless"

"A likely story" he spat.

"Did you know Arc was a shifter?" I asked him.

Doug suddenly realised that the cat that had run into the room was identical to the one he had smiled at.

"I do now. But that doesn't give him the right to kiss you" he retorted.

"He didn't kiss me! It was a hug to thank you for offering to help Zoe"

Doug's expression still remained unconvinced.

"And why should I believe that?" he asked.

"Because I love you and I wouldn't lie to you" I answered.

For the first time, he looked into my eyes. He could see that I was being honest, that nothing had happened and that it was purely innocent. It was then that he believed me. He could also see that his rage at Stephen being attacked had made him nearly kill someone for a crime they hadn't committed.

"Taylor, I'm so sorry" Doug said slowly and carefully. His anger and pain were quickly turning into grief and sorrow.

I moved closer to him and wrapped my arms around his chest. A moment later, he started sobbing onto my shoulder. When he had calmed down, I wiped his tears away with a lick and kissed his cheek.

"I was so scared that I had lost you, just like I nearly lost Stephen, and how I lost Gregory. He was everything to me and he ran away because he couldn't cope with what I had done to him"

After rubbing his back, I smiled and tapped him on the nose.

"Doug Henshaw, that was an accident. You won't ever lose me"

His eyes looked swollen after his emotional outburst so he rubbed them gently. I suddenly realised just how many time we had shed tears, both happy and sad in our relationship. To me, it wasn't important.

It showed we were open and trusting. Doug's jealousy had only been temporary due to the grief of nearly losing Stephen.

Speaking of the recovering werewolf, he walked through the door and smiled. He was carrying a small bag in the one hand and a Chinese takeaway box in the other.

"Anyone fancy a chinky?"

Me and Doug nodded and smiled. He stepped through the door and took it through to the kitchen.

"Where are the plates?" he asked.

"Top cupboard by the washing machine" I replied.

Doug smiled at me and licked me gently.

"Before we eat, I need to apologise to Arc" Doug said calmly.

After nodding in approval, we went to Zoe's bedroom door. We knocked but heard no answer. Worried, I turned the knob and we looked inside. What we saw made us do a double take. Arc was human again and shagging Zoe brainless. We quickly closed the door. A few seconds later, we both started laughing at both each other's expressions, and the sheer surprise of the situation.

"I think I'd better wait a bit" Doug laughed.

"Yeah I think so" I smirked.

We went into the kitchen to find three steaming plates of chicken chow mein, egg fried rice and chips. Stephen picked up his own plate, grabbed a fork from the drawer and sat on the sofa.

Me and Doug both followed suit and we switched on the TV. An episode of Will and Grace was on. As we watched, I hoped to myself that me and Doug weren't a stereotypical gay couple. But then again, I couldn't think of anything that was stereotypical in a relationship between a human and a werewolf.

That night was the start of a few weeks of nothing but a normal life. Well if you can call some supernatural things normal. It was just what I always wanted. A boyfriend I loved more than anything and a set of friends I wouldn't trade for the world.

The next full moon since we met finally came around. Things between me and Doug were as great as ever and Stephen, Doug and Jenna were proving to be the best friends I could ever ask for. Because of the special occasion, Jenna, Stephen and Doug were planning to go to a pack meeting at the nearby forest and I was going to stay in with a good book and a few cans of Vimto.

It was late evening and just as I was poured myself my first cup of Vimto, a noise even more terrifying than a howl rang through the flat. The sound of a gun being fired.